The Cartographers’ Guild is a forum created by and for map makers and aficionados, a place where every aspect of cartography can be admired, examined, learned, and discussed. Our membership consists of professional designers and artists, hobbyists, and amateurs—all are welcome to join and participate in the quest for cartographic skill and knowledge.

Although we specialize in maps of fictional realms, as commonly used in both novels and games (both tabletop and role-playing), many Guild members are also proficient in historical and contemporary maps. Likewise, we specialize in computer-assisted cartography (such as with GIMP, Adobe apps, Campaign Cartographer, Dundjinni, etc.), although many members here also have interest in maps drafted by hand.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ. You will have to register before you can post or view full size images in the forums.

Photoshop jiggle alternative

Many of the tutorials on this site, as well as other techniques I've read about elsewhere, make use of the excellent Jiggle PS filter which I believe is a part of the Eyecandy filter pack. I've used that filter in the past (several years ago) and always found it quite useful, particularly when trying to blend to areas together.

However, finding a place to purchase that filter has proven difficult. More importantly, I discovered after finally locating a copy of it on an old CD, that these filters only work in 32-bit PS. I use the 64-bit version almost exclusively, especially when dealing with larger files.

Does anyone know of a procedural alternative to Jiggle that will create a similiar or comparable effect in PS x64? Thanks

I rarely use the jiggle but use something else instead...what that is I can't remember at the moment (bad me). As soon as I remember I'll post it.

If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)

The ocean ripple filter (Distort / Ocean Ripple) is pretty close but doesn't have as much flexibility. I've got the 64 bit version of PS as well, but hardly ever use it because the third party filters I use the most (Eyecandy and Xenofex) don't work with it. I wish they'd update those filters to work with the 64bit version but they're pretty pricey to buy.

Yeah, they have Eyecandy 6 which supports 64-bit, but no longer contains the Jiggle filter. Xenofex still isn't updated to 64-bit, but it supposedly will be in the next version.
The Ocean Ripple is close, but it just seems too regular and only affects the edges. The brownian motion setting on Jiggle is what I always used. The greater degree of randomness and irregularity, combined with the fact that it has a greater effect on the interiour of the shape, made it very useful.

Can't you use displace with an fBm image generated in any number of fractal generators? Or even render coulds + difference coulds as the displacement map? (A smaller tiled displacement map or lesser scale might give results more in line with what you're after).

Can't you use displace with an fBm image generated in any number of fractal generators? Or even render coulds + difference coulds as the displacement map? (A smaller tiled displacement map or lesser scale might give results more in line with what you're after).

Nice looking coastline

I've tried to mimic the jiggle filter using displace, but have not been able to get a decent displacement map to produce the same results. Possibly because the displace filter uses a reverse interpolation to ensure there are no discontinuities post-map, and the jiggle filter is all about introducing discontinuities. It is more of a large scape spread function rather than a displacement map.

If you look at the Jiggle and Ocean Ripple effects they are both just displacement effects. Jiggle has lots of octaves of noise, while ocean ripple looks to have just one or three to give it that hummocky look.

The images below are much closer to the effect of the jiggle filter. It's about using a smaller image map with greater dynamic range, I think. The swirly bits are an artifact of the difference clouds effect; using a more raw fBm as might come from Wilbur will most likely get harsher lines.

The tiliing may be a distraction. The middle row was a 200x200 displacement map. It looks like the important part may be getting the noise at a high enough frequency and dynamic range (get the bumps smaller and with greater blacks and whites).

If you look at the Jiggle and Ocean Ripple effects they are both just displacement effects. Jiggle has lots of octaves of noise, while ocean ripple looks to have just one or three to give it that hummocky look.

The images below are much closer to the effect of the jiggle filter. It's about using a smaller image map with greater dynamic range, I think. The swirly bits are an artifact of the difference clouds effect; using a more raw fBm as might come from Wilbur will most likely get harsher lines.

The tiliing may be a distraction. The middle row was a 200x200 displacement map. It looks like the important part may be getting the noise at a high enough frequency and dynamic range (get the bumps smaller and with greater blacks and whites).

Good idea - Rather than scaling down noise I figured I try it by enlarging correlate RGB pixel noise:

Thanks, great suggestions.
waldronate, that's starting to look a little closer to Jiggle.
It occurs to me I should explain what I'm hoping to use it for. I'm not worried about coastlines, though all of these techniques would work well for them. I'm thinking more along the lines of breaking up forest or other regional textures so they blend together better. I'm angling for a map style somewhere between a "typical" map-like representation and something closer to aerial imagery. So clean or simply faded/blurred edges don't really work.
One of the tutorials I read made use of this technique quite effectively. Though, of course I can't remember which one at the moment.
I've used difference clouds in some cases, as well as ocean ripple, sometimes even working it by hand (especially with forests). For the most part it has worked out okay, but some situations I just really wish I had a 64-bit Jiggle.